


elegant and broken

by lightinthedarkness



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Attempt at Humor, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, How Can Byleth be OOC if IS refuses to give her a personality?, Humor, Is this household we love couples who help and support each other, Me While Writing This:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 21:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21259946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightinthedarkness/pseuds/lightinthedarkness
Summary: Dimitri knows Byleth to be a strong, guiding light for him, and only wishes to be the same for her.What he doesn’t know? He already is.





	elegant and broken

**Author's Note:**

> At last I get to contribute to the Dimileth fandom!! These two are Soft and I hope the fic conveys that same feeling! Enjoy!
> 
> Title comes from the song “Stitch Me Up” by Set it Off

Dimitri never liked parties. 

He had always held a certain disdain for formal events. There were too many people, too much noise, and far too much work to be done instead.

But his wife had made an excellent point (as she typically did) when she discussed how this party would not only improve overall morale within the Kingdom, but would also ease any tension between him and former Alliance and Empire nobility. There was also a more...personal benefit he had discovered after seeing the gown Mercedes and Annette had helped Byleth find for the occasion. 

All appeared to be well in the early stages of the party, with his wife talking and entertaining guests with the same energy and enthusiasm she emitted in any part of her life. All seemed well, until one of the castle maids brought out a bottle of liquor unfamiliar to Dimitri. He paid it little mind until Byleth tensed under his arm wrapped around her. He looked to her to see her bright and cheerful eyes growing darker and more reserved. When he asked what was wrong, she shook her head and gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, saying that all was well. Concerning yes, but it was possible she was merely growing tired of the festivities and he did not wish to tire her further with his worrying.

It was when Byleth moved into a side hallway, one unseen to the guests, that Dimitri knew something was wrong.

Despite co-hosting the event, it was rather easy for the King to sneak away into the hall himself, keeping his distance for just a moment. Byleth was at the end of the hall, her arms wrapped around her form. All he could see or hear was her shivering form and a faint mumble.

“Keep it together…” she mumbled to herself. He had never heard her voice so, quiet and small. Pain shot through his chest as he took a step forward, and then another.

“Beloved?” His own voice was barely above a whisper that echoed through the hall. He had not wished to startle her, and disappointment welled within his mind she jumped and turned to him.

“Dima?” Her eyes were wide as she took a deep breath. Her tense body relaxed at the sight of him, and the little laugh she let out made his heart flutter, “You scared me half to death.”

He couldn’t stop the small smile spreading across his face, “Perish the thought of me startling Her Grace,” he could feel the heat rise in his cheeks from embarrassment as his smile fell, “At least, not on purpose.” Flirting and bantering with Byleth felt more natural as time went on, but he was far from an expert.

Nonetheless, she chuckled at his attempt, “Honestly my love, no matter what anyone may say you’re about as scary as one of the monastery kittens,” she carefully slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, her gaze shifted from him to the wall, “I’m okay,” she mentioned without any prompting, “Sorry for worrying you.”

“I never said I was worr-”

“Dima.” she looked towards him once more, a small, sad smirk on her face, “ You didn’t need to, you’re a worrywart with a terrible poker face,” she patted the spot next to her on the floor, which he eagerly took. They sat in silence for a moment before, “I can’t remember the name of it, but that drink the maid just brought out, it’s a specialty from the Alliance, the former Alliance at least.” 

He raised an eyebrow, “You knew from the smell?” he asked both impressed and confused as to what that meant.

She nodded, “Yep, pretty easy to when you’re familiar with it…I never drank it, but...” she tilted her head back against the wall.

Dimitri’s remaining eye widened at what the implication. Ah.

“Jeralt liked it then?” the question rolled delicately from his lips, along with a prayer that even asking it was alright.

She nodded with a sigh, “Loved it,” she chuckled, “Our first stop every time we’d enter Alliance territory was a tavern that was near the border, I can only remember that it had the word Shield in the name. He’d buy bottle after bottle and-” she shivered, her head now resting on her knees.

Dimitri could only stare at how...small she looked, curled up against the wall and body shaking. His wife was a strong, warm, and kind woman, but he knew all too well the scars left behind by the loss of a loved one. The ghosts they left behind would claw at his throat and made even the smallest of breaths a feat, “Beloved?” he wrapped an arm around frame and pulled her closer to him.

He could finally see how her makeup smeared across her face, tears rolling down her cheeks like a waterfall, “Do you think it’s still there?” She whispered as she leaned into her husband’s touch.

Honestly, Dimitri had no idea. There were so many places left abandoned and desolate throughout the half decade of war, and if it was near the Alliance border then that would have made…

No. He shook his head of the thought, lowered the voices of despair that shouted within his mind. That wasn’t what Byleth needed to hear right now. But he couldn’t simply tell her it was there without being certain could he?

“Would you like to visit it?” He asked her, his brain finally reaching what he hoped to be an acceptable compromise. 

She looked up to him, eyes puffy and red from crying and his heart shattered at the sight, “Huh?” she asked.

The flush covered his face and neck, “I mean, we need to travel through former Alliance territory eventually, same as we did with the former Empire,” the words stuttered from his mouth in a mess with little time to think them through, “If you remember the location, I’ll make sure we visit this…’Something Shield’...if that is what you wish…” 

Byleth stared at him for a moment and despair pooled in his stomach from making the situation somehow worse. Dimitri was about to say something, anything, to try and fix the damage when a laugh bubbled from his wife. 

Her tears continued to flow, but the shaking was now from laughter as she giggled into her hand and leaned more into his embrace, “‘Something Shield’,” she repeated with another giggle, “I love you so much.” she mumbled between laughter.

Dimitri was, confused by her reaction. But he couldn’t deny how her laughter made every shred of doubt he had in that moment vanish. He tightened his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, “I...I love you too.”

~~~

It was not unusual for Dimitri to wake even before the soft light of dawn creeped onto their bed, and the first morning of a routine visit to the monastery was no exception. While the previous night’s sleep had not been the worst, it had been far from restful with him letting out a soft yawn.

“You awake?” a soft voice asked him. Dimitri’s gaze immediately shifted to Byleth, who looked up to him with a small, sleepy smile, “Good morning.” 

He gave her a small, chaste kiss, “Good morning my Beloved,” he whispered the greeting with another peck to her forehead, “It’s rather odd for you to be awake before me.” He noted. Normally, it would take every ounce of power between him and Dedue to wake Byleth for their morning duties. 

She curled up against his chest, “Yeah...I didn’t sleep real well…” she confessed as a yawn left her lips.

“Nightmares?” he asked, his arm around her waist instinctively tightening. 

She only nodded, “Nothing out of the ordinary…” 

That was all he needed to know, “The Death Knight?” 

Another nod, “Like I said, nothing unusual…” she mumbled against his chest. She was silent for a moment, listening to his heartbeat.

Even almosts seven years later, the Holy Tomb still felt so fresh in Dimitri’s mind. The sight of the crypts, the musky smell of the dead, and especially Byleth’s scream as the Death Knight plunged his scythe into her shoulder, morbid delight radiating from the masked man.

A shiver ran through him at the memory. He could only imagine the nightmares his wife suffered because of the Death Knight and a moment seared into both of their minds.

Dimitri rubbed her back as a thought crossed his mind, “Hey,” he whispered into her hair, “I need to go to the pond today, and I’d like it if you went with me?”

“Why the pond?” she asked, confusion clear in her tone.

He bit his lip to suppress the mirth bubbling in his chest, “Well, Alois mentioned to me about some strange individuals seen by the dock,” he snorted into her hair, his body shaking, “He said they appeared to be awfully sus- _ fish _ -ous.” He looked down to see Byleth’s reaction, only to be greeted with a blank stare, “Beloved?” he asked, his laughter starting to settle down.

She stared at him for a moment before letting out a sigh and burying her face into his chest, “That was awful.” she groaned, which only caused him to laugh harder.

“Oh come now, that’s not the worst joke I’ve ever told...probably.”

“It’s close,” she looked back up to him with a smirk on her lips, “I should’ve known, you asking to go to the pond was really… _ fishy _ .”

The room was filled with the laughter of both the King and Queen for several moments before the two settled back into their bed, breathless.

“Beloved, that was terrible.”

“Better than yours!” she retorted as she moved her hand to his cheek and gently pulled him in for a kiss, “But I think a trip to the pond sounds wonderful…” she curled up into his chest once more, her breathing becoming more relaxed, “But maybe a little later.” a yawn escaped her as she closed her eyes.

Dimitri let out a small chuckle as he pulled Byleth closer to him, “As you wish my Queen.” he mumbled into her hair. 

~~~

Dimitri stretched out in his chair, a groan left his lips as his bones cracked. He yawned and looked over the documents he had been pondering over for the past half hour, properly annotated and signed. While there were still a few other documents to look over, they could wait until the morning.

He looked outside his window, noting the darkness covering the cold, rugged Faerghus. He had wondered about the time as he rose from his desk and shut the door to his office. He had long since dismissed Dedue, a normally difficult task made slightly easier ever since he and Mercedes had wedded only a few moons prior.

He smiled at the memory while walking down the hall, only to stop when a dim light caught his eye. The light peered through the crack of the room he knew to be Byleth’s own study. Was she still awake at such a late hour?

Dimitri gently opened the door to peer inside, only to be greeted with Byleth’s head laying against her desk near a single lit candle, the source of the light. He quietly creeped into the room and over to Byleth’s desk, taking note of the papers mixed with her minty hair and scattered around her. 

He let out a sigh. His wife had her own work to attend to as Archbishop that would often rival his own in sheer mass and time. He could recall many a night where he would see dark bags under her eyes and could not even get a word out before a yawn would accompany it. 

Byleth let out a snore that tugged at Dimitri’s heart. A soft smile spread across his face as he tried to put the scattered papers into some sort of order. 

“These can also wait until the morning,” He whispered to himself. He cleaned up the papers from the floor before turning to his wife. He looked over her for a moment, determined that she would not wake, “Sorry my love,” he mumbled as he gently lifted her by her legs and back, “but I have no choice but to carry you to our bed.” He chuckled and pressed her close to his chest. 

She barely stirred in his grasp as he blew out the candle and shut the door behind him. The walk down the hall was a quiet one, the only noises were Byleth’s mumbling and Dimitri’s boots against the floor. Warmth spread in his heart at the sight of his wife curled up against his. 

He reached their bed chambers only a moment later, careful to not make too much noise as he opened the door and laid Byleth gently onto the bed. Thankfully she was already wearing a simple nightdress, so all Dimitri did was pull the covers over her sleeping frame. Satisfied, he quickly prepared himself for bed and laid down next to her. 

“Sleep well my Beloved.” He whispered with a soft kiss on her forehead.

~~~

Dimitri’s lungs felt as if they were on fire as he took in a deep breath. He gripped at the sheets around him, feeling a sense of comfort at the cool fabric. That did not stop the soft groan from leaving his lips. Another nightmare. Another night stolen by the screaming voices in his head, demanding revenge.

He took another deep breath, the voices in his head dulling for the moment. While his eye felt heavy and the exhaustion settled deep into his bones, he knew trying to sleep again would be fruitless. He ran a hand through his face and hair in an attempt to settle down.

“Dima?” He turned to the new voice to see Byleth sitting on the edge of their bed. In the soft light given by the moon, Dimitri could see the dried tears staining her cheeks.

“Byleth?” He sat up and crawled across the bed to his wife. His own nightmare was a distant memory as he cupped her cheeks, rubbing away the tears with his thumbs, “Beloved what’s wrong?” He knew she had her own nightmares, but never before had they brought her to such a distressed state, “What happened?” 

She only stared at him for a moment, surprise covering her face, before blinking and putting her hand over his, “No...nothing, it’s nothing,” She patted his hand in an attempt to be reassuring, “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Nothing?” His voice was far louder than he had wanted, “You’re crying Byleth, this is not nothing.” He added with a softer tone.

Byleth looked away for a moment, tears starting to form in her eyes once more, “Dima...I…” she let out a sigh before taking his hands and pressing them against her chest, right where her heart rested. Her heart was still under his touch, as it always was. He looked to her, his eye begging for an explanation, “My heart….it can’t flutter when I see you take a bite of Cheesy Verona Stew,” she stuttered as the tears started to fall down her cheeks, “I don’t know how it feels to have my heart skip a beat when you smile, or for it to race when you kiss me,” she lifted his hands to her mouth and pressed gentle, chaste kisses to his knuckles, “I’m sorry my love, I’m sorry to only give you a still heart…”

For a moment all Dimitri could do was stare as he tried to absorb his wife’s words. A moment passed, and then another. He took in a deep breath and pulled his and Byleth’s hands to himself, “Beloved,” he bit his lip as the words slowly formed in his head, “While it is true that you heart does not beat...that does not mean it isn’t full of love,” he looked up to her, his single blue eye meeting her green, “Love that I feel in every single glance you give me, love that I feel in every smile no matter how small,” his thumb brushed against her knuckles, “Love that I can feel in your hands when they’re in my own,” he raised one of her hands to his mouth, turning it so that his lips brushed against the inside of her wrist, “Through your hands I feel the pulse that gives you life,” he placed a soft kiss to her pulse line, “Still or beating, your heart is a treasure I hold very dear, one that I would not trade for anything…” 

The room was still for a moment, with no sound save for Dimitri and Byleth’s breathing. The silence caused him to fidget with her hands, “I’m sorry, I know my words may not mean much but-”

His sentence died as a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, Byleth’s head resting on his chest as sobs wracked through her. He gently wrapped his arms around her, holding her until her sobs turned into the soft, peaceful breathing of sleep. 


End file.
